HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Once again I tried to have my pups take part in the festivities and wish you a Happy Halloween, and Once again.. It was a exhausting experience! lol

But we tried... and tried .. and tried again.
Aly usually cooperates,

but Molly always has a mind of her own! ( don't you just love my pajama pants and socks in the background?) lol ... oh.. and how my hands look like her ear muffs! lol

Didn't matter which hat.. she just didn't like em! lol

can you tell?

50 worthless shots , two frustrated dogs, and one worn out family later, I finally gave it up!

*************************************************************8
Thought I'd share with you , some of the little Halloween ornaments I made with the new Sweet Chips Chipboard pieces from Crafty Secrets. I used the Halloween Cuts and Stickers.

This little flying witch , is one of my fav's . The saying below her on the images, says "Flying lessons 10 Cents"

I love the way this chipboard takes ink so well. I just ran these over my black ink pad, instead of taking time to paint them. Super easy!

It's pretty quite around here tonight. Living in the country , means no trick-or-treaters. Darn... I miss that. Wes stopped here, on his way out. He was going to a party tonight. He made is costume... he was going as one of the guys from the band DEVO. I was pretty impressed. I'll post the pictures tomorrow. He called me twice from Micheal's yesterday, trying to get ideas for how to make the hat. He ended up making it out of foam rings .. it turned out really pretty cool.

*****************

Hope all your little trick-or-treaters have a fun night!

and BOO to you! lol

Happy Tuesday!

I just have to share with you this gorgeous bunch of goodies from my sweet blog friend HB (Carol)! I didn't size this , so you can click on it to see the card closer...because it's AMAZING! I have to ask her how she did the background on this card.. because I love it! What a sweet surprise in the mail today. THAT darling little white vase is now sitting right here on my desk.. so I can enjoy it all day! Thanks Friend!!

I have had my nose to the grindstone , since I got home. My sister Jan and I are teaching in Albion this weekend at their Annual "Big Birthday Bash". It's always a good time! Jan and I plan to meet part way on Friday and stay overnight at a hotel, so we don't have so far to go EARLY Saturday morning. It will be a busy day... with seven classes. Four of our classes are full and 3 with only a few openings , so if you live near and are interested , the info for the event is below. Contact Kami. The event starts on Friday and runs through Sunday. There are classes offered by a number of talented instructors all throughout the weekend, so check out the website if you're interested.

Scrapbook Paradise Big Birthday Bash
*****************************************************************
Can't wait until a have some time to play with this....

it the new "Holly Jolly" line from Fancy Pants ... and it's GREAT!

and below is the "Tis the Season" Felt Shapes. Just came today!!! Yippee!

I'm getting pretty excited about my classes in Canada the weekend after this. I've been working on those , (with lots of help from Cindy and Sandy) , and can show you some pic's soon.

***

Okay , back to work for me. One thing about it , there has been lots of "spooky" shows on TV , for me to "listen" to while I'm working. lol I love , "haunting" shows and stuff like that, and with Halloween tomorrow , there have been tons of them on. I have a little TV in my studio, so I've had them on non-stop. Last night (LATE), Dan got up for a drink and stopped in my doorway and said something. YEAH... I about had a heart attack! I jumped about a foot off my chair. He swears he didn't do it on purpose... but I have my doubts!

(something about seeing him trying to hold back a smile as he was walking away... certainly makes me wonder.)

Scrapbook Expo Ontario California

Well, it was a great show, super busy and days flew by fast. We knew the fires would effect some people travel , for those coming from further away, but the booth was packed most of each day. We did notice the smell of the smoke the first day as we left the airport, but not much after that.

We dropped our stuff of at the hotel and headed over to the convention center to set up. (trust me... we thought these beds felt pretty good , at the end of each day)lol The room was beautiful and the beds SOOO comfy!

Outside of the Ontario Convention Center.

Retail shows are certainly nothing to set up for compared to Trade shows like CHA but it's still alot of work. We just had one booth because it was just the two of us..but even that is alot to set up. Crafty Secrets has grows alot over the last couple of years and has lots of new products, and each show is set up a little differently depending on the placement and size of your booth , so it's always a bit of a challenge figuring out the best way to get everything displayed with easy access.

You start with nothing but a curtained off section like this ...

Here's the booth with all the product out. I didn't get any photos once the show actually started , because it was just tooo busy. I was at the demo table facing forward in this photo. I was so busy and packed in the booth , most of the time, if I stepped out of my area, I couldn't work my way back into the booth. lol ( I'll just say, this was the first time alot of these girls got a chance to see the stamps and ..they were a huge HIT!)

You can tell the show hadn't started yet , because the "pod" is still out. The pod is the metal storage unit on wheels that is on the left side of the photo. It's what everything has to be packed back into at the end to be shipped on to the next show.

The Halloween display was fun. The box pull out album and the blocks are mine and dress by Anna Wight and the darling cat book by Lisa Zappa.





The other Halloween ornaments are done using the new Crafty Secrets Sweet Chips Chipboard Pieces. I'll show you more of those in another post. I brought them home to photograph them , because I didn't have time before I left.

That's Sandy (CS owner and I).. lol , geezzz, must have been at the end of the day , because "I" look tired!!

Like I always say.... meeting blog readers....

and friends we've met at previous shows... it always the hightlight!

Thanks to all of you who came by the booth, we loved seeing you! Once again, I had some pics that didn't turn out... that's so frustrating.



*********************

Before we knew it , it was Saturday 5pm and it was time to pack everything up and head for home. Goodbye California.....
Hello Nebraska!!!


I missed you guys! Feels good to be back!

Crafty Secrets Halloween Bracelet

All packed and ready to head out the door to Scrapbook Expo in Ontario CA , till Sunday. The guys are holding down the fort.(scary huh?)lol I'll be working the Crafty Secrets booth with Sandy (CS owner). I always look forward to getting to spend some time with her, she's as sweet as they come. We never run out of things to talk about , that's for sure! lol
******************************
I thought I'd share with you a Halloween Bracelet I did last year, using all Crafty Secrets paper and images.

I just love that little "jack-o-lantern on the swing" image.

Ribbons are from Creative Impressions (they have fantastic stuff!)... and not just ribbons. I got to see some of their newest goodies at Memory Trends.. and LOVE it all! ..plus they are just NICE peeps!

I'm thinking I got those cute charms from www.watchus.com

Copyright. 2007 Vicki Chrisman

*************************************************************************

Okay, time to hit the road... see you girls on Monday! I'll have lots of pictures to share!

take care... Vic

I'm leaving it to Shawn...

Saturday when I chatting over at Creative Scrap Shack, we were talking techniques, at one point. I was telling them that I saw a interesting technique using dyer sheets( and Glimmer Mist of course) over on Shawns Blog... and that I was intrigued enough that I might give it a try. They were inerested also, so I said that I would do a step by step here on my blog sometime this week. My step by step is a bit different than Shawn's....
Here's mine.

Adhere dryer sheets to paper with a thin layer of glue ( I used a glue stick) Then spritz with Glimmer Mist and head with heat gun. Umm.... didn't shrink up like Shawn's did.
Scrap that , and try heating it first and then adding Glimmer Mist. Ummmm... yeh... still didn't master the webbing effect Shawn did. Maybe I just need to heat it more!

Smoke detectors are LOUD!!!

Okay ...so here's my thoughts on this.

1). Check out Shawns blog for better directions for this technique

2). If you spray enough Gimmer Mist on ANYTHING... it looks Great. (even a scorched dryer sheet)


******************************************************************

Okay... I had planned to make a simple card with my little dryer sheet technique... but OH...no.. I couldn't stick to that. I always have to drag out a huge mess and make it something long and involved when I have NO TIME!

Did I mention I'm leaving tomorrow for a show in California TOMORROW? (should be packing , doing laundry, finishing up projects for deadlines , ect)...but NO

Anyway, you get the idea. I don't stay on task very well at times.... my mind wanders. lol



Anyway , this is what I made. See that little piece of orange behind the image? YEP..that's my dryer sheet. I HAD to incorporate it in the project...so there's my sad attempt.

This was a little note pad holder. Just natural chipboard stuff. I spritzed it all with "Tiger Lily" Glimmer mist, and then added Crafty Secrets Papers ,Chipboard frames, Cotton images and Halloween Stickers.

It was just going to be a container (kind of like , how I was just going to make a CARD). I decided to make a little pull out mini album inside, because I had a few of the Halloween pics of my little nephew Nathaniel left. (and they are just too cute , not to use) lol



The Image on the front is one of the cotton images.

I put a crate paper edge on the container.

( can you see the texture of the dryer sheet?.. it really is pretty cool, even if I'm not sure I did it quite right)lol

Here is the inside with the accordion pages pulled out.

and below is the other side. To make the wide piece that holds all the pages together, I doubled over the crate paper and stitched a piece of orange silky ribbon down the middle. (stitching all three together.)

The album goes together very much like a "Spoolie Album". If your not familiar with Spoolie's, they are a little mini album I came up with , made out of an empty ribbon spool. If your interested in how to make them, there are complete instructions in Crafty Secrets, "Get Round" idea book.

See what I mean , about how distracted I can get...just trying out one (simple?) technique.lol

I had fun making this little project ..but I really should have been packing. It wasn't that the project took that long......but...

WHY? do I always have to drag out EVERYTHING? Oh brother.. I better get busy cleaning up


************************************************************

Be sure to check out the new GLIMMER MIST BLOG!!! Those girls have some great stuff going on over there!

**** One more post before I leave... see you tomorrow!

So fun!

I was so excited to get this in the mail today...it's the Oct/Nov issue of Somerset Memories..and it has my artitcle and layout in it! (finally). This has been in the works for quit some time now.. so I can say the layouts my most current work for sure...but it was still really fun to see my so many pic of my fam in print!

The top right photo is my nephew Brent ( who is actually a few years older than me), when he was a little guy. It's the sweetest photo of him sleeping in his little car.

The bottom right photo is my mom making coffee in the kitchen at our old house, and my sister Jan hanging on her arm( when you have seven kids, you ALWAYS have at least one kid hanging on your arm!)lol

The top photo on the right side is my mom, my Aunt Viv and my Uncle Al , with their 4H sheep, when they were little.

The bottom right photo is Dan(dh) and his sister Kathy when they were little.

I had fun looking at this ..but have to tell you... I was I cant wait to have some time to really sit down and look through it, because there is someyummy stuff in this issue. There are some GORGEOUS projects in an article by Norma Kooi , Called "Hanky Panky" , that have me totally intrigued. I'll tell you this much.. I'm so inspired to dig out those vintage hankies I just purchased, and go to it!





This is a memory box I did using Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage (paper from the Classic Paper Pad) The family in the photo is my Grandma and Grandpa Bendig, my Aunt Viv, Uncle Al and My mom.

The Chipboard shape and this stamp set are new upcoming products from CS. The flowers and petals are AccuCut dies.

IStamped the border at the top and then I used the tracing wheel (again) lol, for the faux stitching. (which works so well on wood!)

This is one of my very favorite papers from the Classic Paper Pad.
****************************************************

Sam Morris over at Crafting Garden was so sweet to give me this"You make me Smile Award"... thanks Sam! Now I'm going to link you to just a few blogger who make ME smile! I have lots that do... so I'll list more next time. But check these fun and talented girls out, if you get a chance.

Catherine

Deb

Karla (Karla's Cottage)

Karla (Sugar Bear Designs)

Lidy
Helle
Michelle
Shawn
Liz
Kara

Beth
Jessica
Laurie

That should keep you busy a while! tee hee

Wrapping up the weekend

Wow, sure seemed like that weekend flew by huh? I did get alot done, so I'm happy about that. .. and Dan did get the sealer on the deck! (I've been "hinting" that , that needed to be don't before the weather got bad.) Janelle scared me with all that talk about "snow". You just never know around here, when that might come. We've had Halloween canceled because of ice and snow before. Nebraska.. ya gotta love the weather! ( and as they say... if you don't... just wait.. it'll change!)

I was so thrilled to hear that CKC in KC went well for Scrappy Gourmet. Sounds like it was a huge success! With it would have worked out for me to come...maybe next year! PS. If any one is interested there are still a few haunted house kits left for order.
****************************
I heard about a new blog this weekend that I wanted to tell you about. It's called
Journaling Junkie. I'm pretty excited to see a blog starting up that focus's on "journaling". Journaling , has always been something I struggle with. It's never come easy for me, but I keep pushing myself to work harder at it , because I think it's such a important part of the pages were are creating to pass on to our future generations. I think how much I would love to read the thoughts of my Grandmother or Great Grandmother...even about the events of their everyday life. Stella asked me about doing a challenge on the blog and as soon as I get through the next few "busy" weeks, I cant wait to get involved in that! I need to challenge myself! lol I think having a blog dedicated to improving journaling skills, with challenges ect... is a fantastic idea.
She is also having a Design Team Call, so if it's something your interested in , you can find out more about it here.
*****************************************
Okay, thought I'd share with you , a little bit of this round PageFrame Album I did , with the Photos I took of Amy's daughter Ruthy. What a CUTIE! I think she would have let me take pictures of her all day. I loved it! No crumbling... just all smiles, changing outfits, hats, glasses.. and all without being asked. Oh.. if they were all that easy. lol She is a fun kid! ( can you tell?)


I've had that bar code stamp that says "Priceless" for a long time, and since this book is all about "Fashion" so it was only "fitting"(lol ...pardon the pun) that I used it on a price tag for this album.

I used to paint all my chipboard pieces, but now I ink them all.. it's so much easier!

I was loosing light by the time I was finishing these photos , so they aren't the best.. but you get the idea.

I took this to the store(Precious Treasures) the other day when us girls were there, and left it for Amy(Ruthy's mom) to see. She is in the hospital with pneumonia . Poor Amy , she started with a bad cold and has been so sick and not able to get over it. Hope this cheers her up a bit , and that she is feeling better really soon!

Today, is my cousin Craig's "B" day... so Happy Birthday to him!!

Hope all of you wake up to a beautiful day tomorrow. Hit it head on and enjoy every minute!